Sri Lanka were sent reeling to a score of 86 for 6 on the first day of the second and final cricket Test against India which commenced as a day-night match in Bangaluru yesterday after the home side made 252.
The last to be dismissed was Angelo Mathews ten minutes before the day’s play could end as he stuck his bat out to a ball from paceman Jasprit Bumrah to be caught in the slips for 43.
Sri Lanka got off to a worst possible start when India took the ball into their hands and ripped off the top three wickets for just 14 runs on the board even before the sixth over could end.
Bumrah set the course when he had opener Kusal Mendis for 2 and Lahiru Thirimane for 8 while in-between Mohammad Shami accounted for Dimuth Karunaratne for 4.
Dhananjaya de Silva followed next when he was dismissed leg-before to Shami for 10 with the total at 24 putting the team in dire straits as the fifth wicket that of Charith Asalanka (5) occurred with the total at 50.
Earlier India winning the toss and deciding to bat first on a slow turning pitch made 252 recovering from 183 for 7 as the Sri Lankan bowler s let the home team off the hook that resulted in Shreyas Iyer clobbering a top score of 92 in 98 balls with 10 fours and four sixes.
Iyer was the last man to be dismissed at a time the Sri Lankans had given up on him when he was stumped by Niroshan Dickwella after missing a ball from spinner Praveen Jayawickrema.
Iyer the latest rising batting star was severe on the spinners who indulged in some poor bowling by dropping the ball short.
The two frontline spinners Lasith Embuldeniya and Jayawickrema conceded 175 runs from the total of 252 while sending down a combined 41.1 overs while the experienced fast bowler Suranga Lakmal could grab just one wicket that of tailender Axa Patel who was bowled for 9.
Part time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva in all probability saved the day for Sri Lanka when he had two lucky scalps that of Virat Kohli trapped leg-before for 23 and Ravichandran Ashwin caught behind for 13.
Scores:
India first innings 252 (Rohit Sharma 15, Vihari 31, Virat Kohli 23, Rishabh Pant 39, Shreyas Iyer 92, R Ashwin 13, Lasith Embuldeniya 3 for 94, Praveen Jayawickrema 3 for 81, Dhananjaya de Silva 2 for 32)
Sri Lanka first innings 86 for 6 (Angelo Mathews 43, Dhananjaya de Silva 10, Niroshan Dickwella 13 not out, Jasprit Bumrah 3 for 15, Mohammad Shami 2 for 18)